Il fait du vent – It is windy
Here in Canada, where I live, the month of March has a reputation for being windy. So, in honour of that, here is some French weather vocabulary to describe our windy days. the wind = le vent It is windy.…
Il pleut – It is raining
To say that it is raining in French, say “il pleut.” This is a tricky phrase for English speakers to pronounce. “Il” = eel. That part is easy. The “pl” sound is just like English. The t is silent. The…
Il neige – It is snowing
Il neige. (eel NAYZH) = It is snowing. Neige rhymes with beige and means snow. To say that it is snowing, say “Il neige.”
u says "oo," almost
The French u sound is different from any sound we have in English. It is very close to the “oo” sound in food, but not exactly the same. To make the French u sound shape your tongue and teeth as…
é says "ay"
Sometimes French uses accents to show what kind of sound a certain letter should have. In French é says “ay.” Here are some é words for you to translate. bébé (bay-BAY)téléphone (tay-lay-FUN)éléphant (ay-lay-FAH)café (ca-FAY)télévision (tay-lay-vee-ZYOH) Visit Nallenart for more information…
a says "a" in sack
In French, the letter a makes a short sound like the a in sack. Can you translate these French words based on their sound? sac (sak)radio (rad-YOH)carotte (ca-RUT)table (TA-bluh)salade (sa-LAD) Visit Nallenart for more information about our French curriculum for…
i says "ee"
The letter i says “ee” in French, as in the name Lisa. Here are some French words that use the “ee” sound made by the letter i. Can you tell what these words mean in English? tigre (TEE-gruh)appétit (a-pay-TEE)favori (fa-voh-REE)Bible…
Months of the Year
The French months of the year are very similar to the English months. Notice that the last four months are almost exactly like English. We get the names of our months from the Roman calendar. Originally the first month was…
Numbers One to Twelve
Today’s lesson is about counting to twelve. Practice saying the French numbers. (Please note that the guides to pronunciation only give a rough idea of what things really sound like in French. Listen to the podcast to hear the correct…
Please and Thank You
To say please in French, we use the phrase: s’il vous plaît (SEEL voo PLAY) This polite expression literally means, “if it pleases you.” Perhaps you have received an invitation that contains the initials R.S.V.P. This is short for the…